Nov 21, 20236 min read

Murder At The Highland Castle by Helena Dixon. Review

Book: Murder At The Highland Castle

Author: Helena Dixon

Pub Day: November 17th 2023

Book Description

majestic castle by a Scottish loch, a glass of whisky by a roaring fire, stockings hung by the chimney… and a body? It’s a midwinter murder for Kitty Underhay!

Winter, 1935. Lightly dusted with snow and nestled on the edge of a sweeping Scottish loch, Finnglach Castle looks positively magical. Kitty Underhay, her husband Matt and their beloved dog Bertie are delighted to be celebrating the new year with a Hogmanay party, but just after midnight, a shot rings out across the grounds…

Their host, Lord Barlas, is dead, murdered in the snow. The killer’s footprints have vanished and the gun is missing. With the snow-covered castle completely cut off, and a killer in their midst, Kitty and Matt need to work fast to find the culprit before someone else ends up dead.

As the weather worsens, the guests begin discussing dark Highland stories about evil spirits. But with an anxious daughter, a new wife set to inherit a fortune and a suspicious spiritual adviser, Kitty is sure the killer is close at hand. Can she, Matt and Bertie sniff out the treacherous culprit in time for haggis and whisky or will they find themselves skating on dangerously thin ice?

Don’t miss this incredibly charming cozy page-turner! If you love TE Kinsey, Agatha Christie or Lee Strauss, you’ll fall head over heels for this totally unputdownable historical mystery.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Murder At The Highland Castle' by Helena Dixon.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Helena Dixon, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 17th November 2023

This is the ninth book I have read by this author. It is also the fourteenth book in the 'Miss Underhay' series but each book can be read as a standalone. I have previously read 'Murder On The Dance Floor', 'Murder At The Wedding', 'Murder In First Class', 'Murder At Elm House', 'Murder At The Country Club', 'Murder At The Charity Ball', 'Murder At The Beauty Pageant' and 'Murder At The Village Fair' which I would highly recommend.

This novel consists of a prologue and 25 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book was very well written and I do believe some research went into it as everything linked correctly in with the era it was set in. It is a real bug bear for me when I read a historical novel and the author hasn't done their research and gets basic information mixed up so well done Helena!! It was very well written and I found the synopsis and the cover fitted the storyline perfectly, The descriptions were great and it really felt as if I was in the story.

Yet another hugely successful addition in this fantastic series by the very talented Helena!! In fact I think this has got to be my favourite book in this series so far and as there are so many amazing books in this series that is saying something!! The storyline was very intriguing , immersive and fast paced. Helena completely emerges the reader into the storyline and as always Helens evocative writing skills brings the atmosphere, sights sounds and characters to life ensuring the reader is completely sucked into the storyline seeing and feeling everything the characters are. I absolutely loved the fact that this book is set in a castle in the Scottish Highlands as it adds to the mysterious and gothic atmosphere as well as adding some chill into the storyline. I really enjoy the fact that this series is set in the past and the storyline really suited that. It really is a nice cozy mystery that will keep you guessing throughout. At no point did I suspect who was doing what or why so a huge well done there Helena!!! I have read many a mystery and find that I am working out the killer/perp quicker every time and there's nothing worse than working out who did what when your need even half way through a book. Not only is this quite a suspense and action filled mystery but there was just the right amount of quirkiness, laughter and romance to give it a nice mix!!! It is one of those books that once I started it I just could not put it down and devoured it in several hours!! A fun, addictive, unputdownable cozy crime mystery. This is a fantastic series and if you have never read any of Helena's previous books then you are definitely missing out. I, personally, would like to add that I think each storyline has got better and better which is a very rare thing for a series.

Although this is the fourteenth book in the series I would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.

I have become completely invested in all of these amazing characters since the first book I read in this fantastic series and I really enjoy meeting Kitty and her fantastic and quirky personality each and every time!!! I also love Matt, her husband of a year, who has grown on me from book to book. They have a brilliant relationship both personal and, now working too. In fact all of the characters have their own individual personalities which worked really well with each other. They have all become like a family to me and I always hate saying goodbye to them at the end of the book. I am looking forward to meeting them all again in the next 'episode' of Mrs Bryant's adventures which I'm sure will be just as exciting as this one!! I also adore the fact that we get to see more of not only Bertie the dog who made an explosive entrance in 'Murder In First Class' (so make sure you don't miss out on that amazing page turner!) but we also have another animal addition in the form of a gorgeous kitten called Rascal from book 11 in this fantastic series 'Murder At The Beauty Pageant' although we didn't see Rascal much in this book as it was too far to travel. I am a huge animal lover (well running Golden Oldies Cat Rescue and Hospice Is be worried if I wasn't!) so it's always a huge bonus where there are animals involved in books and Bertie (and also Rascal) have such huge personalities and play such big parts (normally, as I said not so much Rascal in this book) that it definitely deserves extra bonus points!! A fantastic group of characters for yet another fantastic addition to an addictive series!!! Here's to meeting them all again in the next book 🥂!!!

Well done Helena on yet another fantastic success and here's to the next addition to an addictive page turning series 🥂!!!

Overall a perfect mix of mystery, crime, romance, laughter and quirkiness which kept me turning the pages late at night!!

293 pages.

This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £7.79 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Helena Dixon splits her time between the Black Country and Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, and a crazy cockapoo. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010 as Nell Dixon. She now writes historical 1930's set cozy crime.